Baking for the Wicked

baking

My gorgeous friend Jennifer came over today, so I absolutely had to make her cupcakes. I mean, what sort of a friend would I be not to? So, caution to the wind, and diet aside, I whipped up a batch of the most moist, decadent, and divine cupcakes you could imagine. Continue reading →

Being on a diet is hard. Obvious reasons aside, it is hard because I need to cook. It is my creative outlet, and I feel hollow when I don’t do it for a while. Four days is a while, I guess. But I figured, why should Mr. S have to suffer because I am on a cleanse? So I baked this gorgeous fluffy bread. Continue reading →

Have y’all heard of Food Not Bombs? It’s a great worldwide charity that does food drives for the hungry. When I was in high school, I used to bake this bread for Food Not Bombs every Sunday, and my friends would make soup or whatever, and we’d all hang out in the park and feed people. Continue reading →

When I was a very little girl, we would go to this LA chain restaurant called Baker’s Square every week. I would have a grilled cheese sandwich, milk, and a huge slice of French silk pie. Lots of places sell French silk pie, but nothing comes close to Baker’s Square, their food is crap, but the pies are fabulous. The slices were so huge, my mother once asked the waiter to bring me only half a slice, and wrap the other up for later. I was furious, and shrieked “Where’s my PIE?!” until the waiter sheepishly brought out the rest of it. Thus, at the tender age of five, it became clear that pie and I were to be lifelong friends. Continue reading →

My mother has been making dutch babies for as long as I can remember. Not that kind of baby, silly, you have such a dirty mind. Just kidding…

Anyway, a dutch baby is what happens when you decide to cross-breed a popover and a pancake. I decided to make one for dinner tonight, because we all know that breakfast in the middle of the night is awesome. Continue reading →

I decided to make this cake up today on a whim, and it turned out deliciously! Mr. S seems particularly pleased, which is huge, because he isn’t a dessert person. He has always been especially fond of my magical mystical maple frosting, which I usually put on my old fashioned doughnuts. And what do we have with doughnuts? Why coffee, of course! So this is my riff on coffee and donuts. Enjoy! Continue reading →

I tasted my first Chess pie in St. Louis during a production of Das Rheingold. I was staying with this 96 year old retired professor of literature, and she made this pie for me. I had never heard of it, and when she told me it had cornmeal and vinegar in it, I must admit I was highly skeptical, to say the least. When the first bite touched my lips, I died. I was floating, far above the city of St. Louis, on an entirely different plane of existence. I hadn’t realized something could ever be so perfect. She had to hide the pie to stop me from consuming it whole. I repaid her by teaching her how to watch DVDs on her computer, which she found upsetting and difficult. I think we know who got the better end of the deal. Continue reading →

When I first moved to Germany a few years back, it took a while to realize the absence of pie. Pie isn’t a thing here. There are the occasional bakeries that profess to sell pies, but any pie-lover can tell you these are not, in fact, pies (much like the “Mexican” food). After a terrible experiment with puff pastry, and my darling German friend bringing me a pre-made “pie crust” from a special “pie shop,” it became clear that if I wanted pie, I was going to have to make it myself. This pie crust recipe is the fruition of two years’ labor in the kitchen, and it is truly divine! Continue reading →

Sometimes we all need a spoonful of sugar. On days when we are feeling blue, we need not only a distraction, but a creative outlet- something that makes us proud of ourselves, and gives us a feeling of accomplishment. There are not many times that I have felt such accomplishment with regards to baking. But this recipe is so far beyond all other chocolate cookies, it is a super nova among ordinary novas, a 10 on the Richter scale of richness; in short, it goes up to 11. This, my belovèds, is a heart attack on a plate. This is Death by Chocolate. Continue reading →

I adore banana bread. My stepmother used to make it for me when I forgot to eat the bananas in my lunch. Banana bread is always the perfect solution to those sad, blackened, smooshed lunch box bananas, or just the poor bananas you forgot from last week, even though they have been sitting right in front of you the whole damn time. Continue reading →

The deliciousness of this cake is insane. It is hard for even me to describe. It is moist, fluffy, creamy, light, tangy, warm, rich, and most importantly evocative of holidays past. The spices blend together to create that nostalgic childhood festive feel, of gingerbread houses and pumpkin pies. It can be made year round of course, but I recommend using it for fall through late winter. Continue reading →

Magical Mystical Frosting is the most magical mystical frosting of them all. Everyone loves frosting, but this recipe is akin to a peyote spiritual journey. You will have an epiphany while literally tripping on this frosting. The heavenly lightness combined with the rich, creamy tang makes it unsurpassable. Furthermore, its super hero shape holding power guarantees your cake will remain unmelted even on the hottest, most tropical day. Those of you in Germany will appreciate this recipe because in Germany butter and cream cheese have a higher water content, which makes frosting melty. Continue reading →